Hot and sour beef broth

How to make Hot and sour beef broth recipe

Serves 4

Preparation time 12 minutes, Cooking time about 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 litre (1¾ pints) clear beef stock
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon palm sugar or soft light brown sugar
1 garlic clove, sliced
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves, thinly shredded
2 teaspoons tamarind paste
100 g (3½ oz) baby corn, halved lengthways
350 g (11½ oz) beef fillet, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, finely sliced, to garnish

Method:
Put the stock, fish sauce, vinegar, lime juice and palm sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, shallot, lime leaves, tamarind paste and baby corn, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the beef fillet, then immediately ladle into bowls. Scatter over the spring onion and serve immediately.

For hot & sour mushroom broth, replace the beef stock and beef fillet with 75 g (3 oz) dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in 1 litre (1¾ pints) boiling vegetable stock for 15–20 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid, and slice the mushrooms, then make the broth as above.

Hot and sour beef broth